VIDEO: American flags blessed for 'Operation: Please Remember Me'

By Ian Benjamin

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

COLONIE -- Marine Chaplain Robert Matthews blessed 126 American flags Tuesday night at the Joseph E. Zaloga VFW Post on Everett Road. Those flags are now destined to fly along Route 9 in remembrance of local soldiers who died in combat.

Legionnaire and Vietnam-era veteran Thomas Regan, who conceived the project, hopes that when people see Old Glory stretching away into the distance, they will remember the more than 1,000 Capital District veterans who have died since World War II and be spurred to appreciate their sacrifice.

"We feel, as a community, that this is the right time and the right thing to do, all of us standing together," said Regan.

When the line of flags is raised shortly before Memorial Day, it will stretch four miles down Route 9 from Albany Memorial Hospital, past Siena College, to the intersection with Route 155. They will not come down until July 4 -- the beginning of a tradition that Regan hopes will take root for years to come.

On May 18, a motorcade of the families of fallen service men and women will pass by every flag along Route 9, accompanied by Albany County law enforcement agencies, said Gene Loparco, who assisted Regan with the project. They will be followed by more than 100 riders from the Patriot Guard and the American Legion.

"This will say 'Thank you,' to the families, to the people that gave us their lives," said Regan.

Called "Operation: Please Remember Me," the campaign is being organized by Regan, Loparco and the Tri-County Council of Vietnam Era Veterans. Both men are veterans: Loparco is a Vietnam combat veteran while Regan is a Vietnam-era veteran.

The first 120 flags will display Old Glory, each honoring ten local veterans who died in combat since WWII, four of the remaining flags will honor those who went missing in action, and the last two flags will represent the five military branches. Volunteers from National Grid will be raising the flags 16 feet off the ground early Friday morning. Roughly half the utility poles do not have a streetlight affixed to them, so the TCCVEV is outfitting each pole with a solar-powered light.

"The flag should never be in the dark," said Loparco.

As of Tuesday evening, Loparco had identified 1,205 soldiers from Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Saratoga counties who had died in combat. Among those were four men Regan knew from his days at Albany High School, Richard Rockenstyre, Michael DeMarco, Richard Leahy, and Billie Seabast, the death of whom initially spurred the project.

"They were tremendous young men, real good guys," said Regan. "They were normal 18, 19, and 20-year-old young men. And they never came home again."

Regan is hoping that some of the appreciation for the fallen soldiers' contributions might flow into an effort to help the TCCVEV restore the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Lafayette Park, across from the New York State Capitol.

"We're in dire straits," said Regan.

The yearly freezing and thawing cycle has damaged the monument's concrete foundation, said Loparco, and repairs were estimated at $250,000. The organization has so far raised much of that, but it still has $80,000 to go -- and some outstanding bills for the cost of work it has not been able to cover.

For anyone looking to help repair the monument -- phase II of the campaign -- donations are being accepted at all Trustco Bank branches through checks made out to "Please Remember Me."

"I knew that if people would see these flags, they would respond to it and that they would stand," said Regan.